Primary source in Arabic by Arif al-Arif, a chronicle documenting the 1948 fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of Palestinian life across the country, introduced by Walid Khalidi. Al-Arif, a Palestinian historian and former mayor of East Jerusalem, compiled firsthand testimony, contemporary documents, and his own observations into a comprehensive chronicle of the Nakba written from within Palestinian society. The text represents one of the earliest and most important Palestinian documentary accounts of 1948 and has been a foundational reference for subsequent scholarship. Essential for researchers working on the Palestinian historiography of 1948, particularly for those seeking Arabic-language primary sources and for scholars tracing how Palestinians documented the Nakba in real time, before the dominance of Israeli state archives in shaping the historical record.
